Wednesday, January 4, 2012

(photo provided by Olivia Ortiz)Thanks to a banner fall full of state championships, Lakewood Ranch leads Class 6A in the Florida High School Athletic Association's Floyd E. Lay Sunshine Cup All-Sports Awards standings.The Mustangs have 360.5 points and lead second-place Gainesville (343) heading into the winter postseason.Points are awarded based on how each team fared in each season's sports. Points are awarded to the top 16 finishers, with the state champion earning 100 points. Bonus points are awarded to district and regional champions, and points are deducted for examples of unsportsmanlike conduct.The Mustangs were led this fall by the boys golf team, cross country runner Olivia Ortiz (above) and swimmers Will Kazokas and Danielle Valley, all of whom won state championships.The volleyball team won a district title and reached the regional finals and the football team made the Region 3 playoffs.The only area school mentioned was Manatee, which is fourth in the Class 7A boys standings with 110 points thanks to the football team, which won district and regional titles en route to winning the program's fifth state championship.

Manatee coach John Booth and running back Johnnie Lang each took third in Class 8A in the Coach and Player of the Year balloting for t...

About this blog

Prep Rally is all about high school sports in Manatee County. From baseball to basketball, softball to soccer, volleyball to track, swimming to wrestling and weightlifting, if they play it, you can read about it at Prep Rally.

The author, John Lembo, has covered prep sports for the Bradenton Herald since 2005.